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Rainy-Day Savings LEVELED BOOK • O

A Reading A–Z Level O Leveled Book Rainy-Day
Word Count: 814 Savings

Visit www.readinga-z.com Written by Heather Lynne Banks
Illustrated by Len Epstein
for thousands of books and materials.
www.readinga-z.com

Rainy-Day
Savings

Written by Heather Lynne Banks Rainy-Day Savings Correlation
Illustrated by Len Epstein Level O Leveled Book LEVEL O
© Learning A–Z
www.readinga-z.com Written by Heather Lynne Banks Fountas & Pinnell M
Illustrated by Len Epstein Reading Recovery 20

All rights reserved. DRA 28

www.readinga-z.com

Table of Contents Money in the Bank
Money in the Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Saving Is Smart . . . and Hard . . . . . . . . 8 When her mom picked Anita up from
A Job Is Lost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 school, the car was making strange
Anita’s Rainy Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 grinding sounds.
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
“What’s that noise?” Anita asked as she
Rainy-Day Savings • Level O 3 plopped into the passenger’s seat. “Is
the car going to break down? I need to
walk six dogs before dinner.”

4

“Don’t worry—we’ll get home in time for “Maybe I should have a bank account,
your job,” Mom said. “I’ll visit the auto too,” Anita said. Now that she walked
mechanic tomorrow morning to find out the neighbors’ dogs after school, she had
what’s wrong with the car. Hopefully, money of her own.
it’s something minor, and the repairs
won’t cost too much.” “That’s an excellent idea, Anita,” Mom
said. “Tonight, you can research what
“What if it’s something serious?” Anita you need to do to start your own savings
asked worriedly. This was her family’s account. On Saturday, we’ll go to the bank
only car. together to open an account for you.”

“Your dad and I have some money in 6
the bank,” Mom said. “We save every
month so we can deal with problems
like this. When we have a rainy-day
emergency or an unexpected expense,
we can write a check to pay for it. The
bank takes the amount of the check out
of our bank account.”

“And the rest of your money sits there
until you need it?” Anita said.

“Yes, we can take the money out of the
bank whenever we need it,” Mom said.

Rainy-Day Savings • Level O 5

Do You Know?

How to Open a Bank Account

Where? You can open an account online or in person.

When? You can open an account at any age.

Who? If you are under eighteen years old, your parent or
guardian’s name needs to be on the account.

What? You need a Social Security Number, your date of
birth, proof of address, and money to deposit.
Some banks may require additional forms of ID.
Call ahead to find out what is needed in your area.

Why? A bank account is safe and convenient—your
money is protected, and you can withdraw funds
whenever you need them.

Rainy-Day Savings • Level O 7 Saving Is Smart . . . and Hard

A month after she opened her savings
account, Anita received a letter in the
mail. It was a bank statement showing
how much money she had in her
account. It also showed how much
interest, or additional money, her
savings had earned.

“Why are they giving me interest?” Anita
asked her dad.

8

“The bank took the money from you and
others, and loaned it out to people who
needed it.” Dad said. “Those borrowers
will eventually pay the bank back.
When people repay their loans to the
bank, they also pay extra money, called
interest. Interest is how the bank makes
money. Some of that interest gets passed
on to you for letting the bank lend out
your money.”

“Wow! I earn money by walking dogs,
and my money earns money by helping
other people. I love having a bank
account!”

Anita headed outside to do her job. “It’s great!” Anita said, after looking
Four huge dogs on tangled leashes were it over.
pulling her down the sidewalk when
she spotted her friend Maurice. “You should get one, too—then we
could skateboard together.”
“Do you like my new skateboard?”
Maurice asked, picking it up so Anita “Maybe,” Anita said. She wanted a
could get a close look at it. It was silver skateboard of her own, but she also
and blue with bright orange wheels. loved seeing her bank account grow.

Rainy-Day Savings • Level O 9 10

A Job Is Lost Dad managed a small smile. “Thank
you, Anita. But you can save that money
A few days later, Dad came home looking for your own rainy-day emergency.”
sad. The company where he worked had “I still have my job, and we have our
to close, so he no longer had a job. own savings account,” Mom said. “We
will cut back on expenses for a while
Suddenly, a new skateboard didn’t seem and cancel our vacation to the beach.
important to Anita at all. She got the But because we planned ahead and
bank statement from her bedroom and saved, we’ll probably be all right until
showed it to her parents. “This sounds your dad finds a new job.”
like a rainy-day emergency. I have money Anita felt better, but something told her
in my savings account, if it would help.” she should plan ahead, too.

Rainy-Day Savings • Level O 11 12

Anita had six dogs to walk, and none
of them liked getting wet. They cried
and huddled together as she pulled on
their leashes with one hand. With her
other hand, she tried to hold on to the
umbrella. But the wind whipped the
umbrella around until Anita lost her grip.
The umbrella flew from her hand and
went crashing down the sidewalk.

Anita’s Rainy Day

One week later, it was raining hard when
Anita got home from school. But even
in bad weather, she had to do her job.
People and dogs were depending on her.

She put her feet into galoshes that rose
almost to her knees. She pulled on a
shiny yellow raincoat and grabbed her
umbrella. Then she trudged off to the
first house.

Rainy-Day Savings • Level O 13 14

By the time Anita caught up to it, the Glossary
umbrella was torn and bent, and she
was soaked. She sloshed around the rest account (n.) an arrangement with a bank in
of the block with the dogs, then ran for which customers keep their money
the shelter of her house. in the bank in exchange for certain
services (p. 5)
“What happened to you?” Mom asked.
borrowers (n.) people who take things with the
“I just had a rainy-day emergency,” Anita promise that they will return them
said, realizing how she wanted to spend later (p. 9)
at least some of her savings. “It’s time to
buy a new umbrella!” expense (n.) the amount of money spent to buy
or do something (p. 5)
Rainy-Day Savings • Level O 15
galoshes (n.) waterproof boots, usually made of
rubber, that are worn over regular
shoes to keep them from getting
wet or muddy (p. 13)

interest (n.) money that is paid on a loan by the
borrower for the use of that money
(p. 8)

minor (adj.) unimportant; not serious (p. 5)

research (v.) to study or investigate (p. 6)

savings (n.) money kept aside or in a bank to
use later (p. 6)

statement (n.) a listing of deposits and
withdrawals made to and from
a bank account (p. 8)

trudged (v.) walked slowly and heavily due to
fatigue or difficult conditions (p. 13)

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